Modlitwy i inne praktyki religijne w listach i pamiętnikach chłopów Królestwa Polskiego na przełomie XIX i XX wieku

Abstract

The article addresses the issue of prayers and other activities of the peasants of the Kingdom of Poland at the turn of the twentieth century which aimed to communicate with the supernatural reality. Sacraments as well as extra-liturgical services and private prayers are described. Attention is also given to unorthodox practices such as witchcraft and curses. Considerations on the motivation of the peasants' religious practices and the nature of their prayers are presented. The letters and diaries of the group under study form the basis for research. They already constitute a considerable corpus of sources for the period under discussion, but unfortunately this has not been sufficiently used in the earlier literature on the subject.